The Silent Exit: A Qualitative Study of Young Auditors’ Decision to Remain in or Leave the Profession

Abstract

Attracting and retaining employees remains one of the most pressing challenges in the Danish accounting industry. A significant number of young professionals either never enter the field when completing their master or leave the field within a few years. This dissertation investigates the underlying factors influencing auditors' considerations and decision to stay or leave the audit profession. The thesis is based on a hermenuetic-phenomenological approach supplemented by social constructivism and uses Grounded Theory as its research design. The study is based on 13 qualitative interviews with current or former employees from Big 4 which provides the empirical basis for analyzing the organizational, relational and individual factors that influence individuals' experiences of the industry. The analysis shows how concepts such as the emptiness of the career ladder, the paradox of flexibility, and the value of long hours characterize working conditions and can lead to disengagement. Management presence, a sense of fairness and access to meaningful development opportunities, as well as good colleagues and relational bonds emerge as key factors for attachment. This thesis finds that reducing unwanted employee turnover depends not on individual factors alone, but on the dynamic interplay between them. These findings culminate in the development of a new theoretical framework: the silent exit. The theory provides a new language for a larger issue: the quiet and gradual disengagement among younger accountants in the industry. The silent exit explains the phenomenon as a result of three simultaneous and mutually reinforcing mechanisms: relational erosion, structural exhaustion and professional disengagement. By making the unspoken visible and conceptualizing what previously went unnoticed, the silent exit provides the industry with a tool to improve attachment. The theory of the silent exit helps create a foundation for a more sustainable workplace for the young accountants of the future.